Docking system for a tele-presence robot

ABSTRACT

A remote controlled robot system that includes a mobile robot with a robot camera and a battery plug module, and a remote control station that transmits commands to control the mobile robot. The system also includes a battery charging module that mates with the mobile robot battery plug module, and an alignment system that aligns the battery plug module with the battery charging module. The battery modules may also be aligned with the aid of video images of the battery charging module provided to the remote station by a camera located within the battery plug module.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The subject matter disclosed generally relates to the field of mobile robots.

2. Background Information

There has been marketed a mobile robot introduced by InTouch Technologies, Inc., the assignee of this application, under the trademarks COMPANION, RP-6 and RP-7. The InTouch robot is controlled by a user at a remote station. The remote station may be a personal computer with a joystick that allows the user to remotely control the movement of the robot. Both the robot and remote station have cameras, monitors, speakers and microphones to allow for two-way video/audio communication. The robot camera provides video images to a screen at the remote station so that the user can view the robot's surroundings and move the robot accordingly.

The InTouch robot is wireless and thus must operate on battery power. The robot battery must be periodically recharged. This requires remotely moving the robot to an electrical outlet and then having someone at the robot site plug the robot into the outlet. There may be situations where the robot must be recharged but there is no one at the robot site to plug the robot into an electrical outlet.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A remote controlled robot system that includes a mobile robot with a robot camera and a battery plug module, and a remote control station that transmits commands to control the mobile robot. The system also includes a battery charging module that mates with the mobile robot battery plug module, and an alignment system that aligns the battery plug module with the battery charging module.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an illustration of a robotic system;

FIG. 2 is a schematic of an electrical system of a robot;

FIG. 3 is a further schematic of the electrical system of the robot;

FIG. 4 is an illustration of a system with a charging station;

FIG. 5 is an illustration of a battery plug module of a robot;

FIGS. 6A-C are illustrations showing a plug of the plug module pivoting relative to a shroud;

FIG. 7 is an illustration of a battery charging module;

FIGS. 8A-B are illustrations showing the exposure of electrical contacts of the battery plug module;

FIG. 9 is an illustration showing a cross-sectional view of the battery plug module mated with the battery charging module;

FIG. 10 is an electrical schematic of the battery plug module and the battery charging module;

FIG. 11 is a graphical user interface of a remote station.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Disclosed is a remote controlled robot system that includes a mobile robot with a robot camera and a battery plug module, and a remote control station that transmits commands to control the mobile robot. The system also includes a battery charging module that mates with the mobile robot battery plug module, and an alignment system that aligns the battery plug module with the battery charging module. The battery modules may also be aligned with the aid of video images of the battery charging module provided to the remote station by a camera located within the battery plug module.

Referring to the drawings more particularly by reference numbers, FIG. 1 shows a robotic system 10 that can be used to conduct a remote visit. The robotic system 10 includes a robot 12, a base station 14 and a remote control station 16. The remote control station 16 may be coupled to the base station 14 through a network 18. By way of example, the network 18 may be either a packet switched network such as the Internet, or a circuit switched network such has a Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) or other broadband system. The base station 14 may be coupled to the network 18 by a modem 20 or other broadband network interface device. By way of example, the base station 14 may be a wireless router. Alternatively, the robot 12 may have a direct connection to the network thru for example a satellite.

The remote control station 16 may include a computer 22 that has a monitor 24, a camera 26, a microphone 28 and a speaker 30. The computer 22 may also contain an input device 32 such as a joystick and/or a mouse and a keyboard 34. The control station 16 is typically located in a place that is remote from the robot 12. Although only one remote control station 16 is shown, the system 10 may include a plurality of remote stations. In general any number of robots 12 may be controlled by any number of remote stations 16 or other robots 12. For example, one remote station 16 may be coupled to a plurality of robots 12, or one robot 12 may be coupled to a plurality of remote stations 16, or a plurality of robots 12.

Each robot 12 includes a movement platform 36 that is attached to a robot housing 38. Also attached to the robot housing 36 is a pair of cameras 40 and 42, a monitor 44, a microphone(s) 46 and a speaker(s) 48. The microphone 46 and speaker 30 may create a stereophonic sound. The robot 12 may also have an antenna 50 that is wirelessly coupled to an antenna 52 of the base station 14. The robot monitor 44 and cameras 40 and 82 move together in two degrees of freedom including pan and tilt directions. The system 10 allows a user at the remote control station 16 to move the robot 12 through operation of the input device 32. The robot cameras 40 and 42 are coupled to the remote monitor 24 so that a user at the remote station 16 can view the remote site. Likewise, the robot monitor 44 is coupled to the remote camera 26 so that the someone at the remote site can view the user. The microphones 28 and 46, and speakers 30 and 48, allow for audible communication between the patient and the user.

Camera 40 may provide a wide angle view. Conversely, camera 42 may contain a zoom lens to provide a narrow angle view. Camera 42 can capture a zoom image that is transmitted to the remote control station. Camera 40 can capture a non-zoom image that can be transmitted to the remote control station. Although two cameras are shown and described, it is to be understood that the robot may contain only one camera that has the capability to provide a zoom image and a non-zoom image.

The remote station computer 22 may operate Microsoft OS software and WINDOWS XP or other operating systems such as LINUX. The remote computer 22 may also operate a video driver, a camera driver, an audio driver and a joystick driver. The video images may be transmitted and received with compression software such as MPEG CODEC.

FIGS. 2 and 3 show an embodiment of a robot 12. Each robot 12 may include a high level control system 150 and a low level control system 152. The high level control system 150 may include a processor 154 that is connected to a bus 156. The monitor 44 is coupled to the bus 156 by a serial output port 160 and a VGA driver 162. The monitor 44 may include a touchscreen function that allows a user to enter input by touching the monitor screen.

The speaker 48 is coupled to the bus 156 by a digital to analog converter 164. The microphone 46 is coupled to the bus 156 by an analog to digital converter 166. The high level controller 150 may also contain random access memory (RAM) device 168, a non-volatile RAM device 170 and a mass storage device 172 that are all coupled to the bus 156. The mass storage device 172 may contain files that can be accessed by the user at the remote control station 16. For example, the mass storage device 172 may contain a picture of a patient. The user, particularly a health care provider, can recall the old picture and make a side by side comparison on the monitor 24 with a present video image of the patient provided by the camera 40. The robot antennae 50 may be coupled to a wireless transceiver 174. By way of example, the transceiver 174 may transmit and receive information in accordance with IEEE 802.11b.

The controller 154 may operate with a LINUX OS operating system. The controller 154 may also operate MS WINDOWS along with video, camera and audio drivers for communication with the remote control station 16. Video information may be transceived using MPEG CODEC compression techniques. The software may allow the user to send e-mail to the patient and vice versa, or allow the patient to access the Internet. In general the high level controller 150 operates to control communication between the robot 12 and the remote control station 16.

The remote control station 16 may include a computer that is similar to the high level controller 150. The computer would have a processor, memory, I/O, software, firmware, etc. for generating, transmitting, receiving and processing information.

The high level controller 150 may be linked to the low level controller 152 by serial ports 176 and 178. The low level controller 152 includes a processor 180 that is coupled to a RAM device 182 and non-volatile RAM device 184 by a bus 186. Each robot 12 contains a plurality of motors 188 and motor encoders 190. The motors 188 can actuate the movement platform and move other parts of the robot such as the monitor and camera. The encoders 190 provide feedback information regarding the output of the motors 188. The motors 188 can be coupled to the bus 186 by a digital to analog converter 192 and a driver amplifier 194. The encoders 190 can be coupled to the bus 186 by a decoder 196. Each robot 12 also has a number of proximity sensors 198 (see also FIG. 1). The position sensors 198 can be coupled to the bus 186 by a signal conditioning circuit 200 and an analog to digital converter 202.

The low level controller 152 runs software routines that mechanically actuate the robot 12. For example, the low level controller 152 provides instructions to actuate the movement platform to move the robot 12. The low level controller 152 may receive movement instructions from the high level controller 150. The movement instructions may be received as movement commands from the remote control station or another robot. Although two controllers are shown, it is to be understood that each robot 12 may have one controller, or more than two controllers, controlling the high and low level functions.

The system 10 may be the same or similar to a robotic system provided by the assignee InTouch-Health, Inc. of Santa Barbara, Calif. under the name RP-7. The system may also be the same or similar to the system disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,925,357 issued to Wang et al. on Aug. 2, 2005, which is hereby incorporated by reference.

The various electrical devices of each robot 12 may be powered by a battery(ies) 204. The battery 204 may be recharged by a battery charger station 206. The low level controller 152 may include a battery control circuit 208 that senses the power level of the battery 204. The low level controller 152 can sense when the power falls below a threshold and then send a message to the high level controller 150.

The low level 152 and/or high level 150 controllers can operate a software routine to automatically dock the robot with the battery charger station 206.

FIG. 4 is an embodiment of a mobile robot 12 with a battery plug module 250 that can be mated with a battery charging module 252 to recharge the battery of the robot 12. The battery charging module 252 can be mounted to a wall and plugged into a conventional electrical outlet 254. The robot 12 may also have a conventional two or three prong electrical plug 256 that can be plugged into the outlet 254 or a similar female outlet 258 on the module 252.

As shown in FIG. 5 the battery plug module 250 may include a plug 260 that includes a plurality of electrical contacts 262 coupled to a plug housing 264. The plug module 250 may have sensors 266. Each sensor 266 may include an IR emitter 268 and an IR detector 270. The plug module 250 may also include a camera 272 that can provide video images of the battery charging module to the remote station so that the remote operator can move the robot in a manner to mate the modules 250 and 252.

As shown in FIGS. 6A-C the contact housing 264 may be pivotally connected to a shroud 274. The pivotal movement of the housing 264 compensates for any lack of alignment between the plug module 250 and the charging module 252. The housing 264 can pivot about a pin 276 that is connected to the shroud 274. The shroud 274 is fixed to the body of the robot 12.

FIG. 7 shows the battery charging module 252 with a plurality of female electrical receptacles 278 attached to a module housing 280. The charging module may have a plurality of IR emitters 282 such as IR LEDs. Located on opposite sides of the receptacles 278 are short pass optical filters 284. The filters 284 can absorb the IR emitted by the plug module 250.

As shown in FIGS. 8A-B and 9 the plug module 250 may have a spring 286 that biases the plug housing 264 so that the electrical contacts 262 are normally concealed. When the modules 250 and 252 are mated the charging module housing 280 pushes the plug housing 264 to expose the contacts 262. This provides a safety feature to prevent inadvertent contact with the electrical contacts 262 during use of the robot 12. The contacts 262 may include two live contacts 288, a long ground contact 290 and a short ground contact 292. The long ground contact 290 can insure grounding when the modules 250 and 252 are initially mated. The short ground contact 290 can be used to control when the charging module is energized.

FIG. 10 is an electrical schematic of a battery plug module circuit 300 and a battery charging module circuit 302. The plug module circuit 300 includes AC detection circuits 304 that can sense the presence of power and a relay 306 that switch a line filter 308 and battery charger 310 between the electrical contacts 262 and the power plug 256. If the AC detector 304 for the plug 256 detects power, then the relay 306 couples the charger 310 to the plug 256. If the contact AC detector 304 detects power, then the relay 306 couples the charger 310 to the contacts 262.

The charging module circuit 302 includes a relay 312 that can couple the receptacles 278 to a power supply 314. When the plug module is not mated with the charging module the relay 312 can couple the receptacles 278 to ground, to de-energize the module 252. When the short ground contact of the plug module is plugged into the corresponding receptacle, the relay 312 switches so that the receptacles 278 are coupled to the power supply 314 to energize the charging module 252 and charge the robot battery. The short ground contact insures that the modules are fully mated before the charging module is energized to improve the safety of the system.

Referring to FIG. 4, the robot 12 may have a plurality of range finder sensors 320 that emit and receive signals to determine a distance from the robot and an object such as the wall that supports the battery charging module.

FIG. 11 shows a display user interface (“DUI”) 350 that can be displayed at the remote station 16. The DUI 350 may include a robot view field 352 that displays a video image provided by one of the cameras 40 or 42 at the robot location. The DUI 350 may include a station view field 354 that displays a video image provided by the camera of the remote station 16. The DUI 350 may be part of an application program stored and operated by the computer 22 of the remote station 16.

The DUI 350 may include a battery camera field 356 that displays a video image provided by the camera of the battery plug module 352. This field 356 may be used by the user to guide the robot plug into the charging module 352. The DUI 350 may have a graphical indicator 358 that provides an indication of when the robot battery needs to be recharged. A graphical icon 360 may be selected by the user to enable an automatic docking function of the robot.

While the robot is being operated a “BATTERY LOW PLEASE DOCK” 362 message may appear in field 352. The user can move the robot until it is in range with the battery charging module. When in range, an “IN RANGE” 364 message may appear in field 352. When in range the icon 360 can be enabled so that the user can select the automatic docking mode. The range of the robot relative to the charging station may be determined using a RFID tag in the charging station that emits a wireless signal that is detected by an RFID sensor in the robot. Determining whether the robot is in range may also be performed with a visual detection system. By way of example, the visual detection system may be a detection algorithm known as SIFT or a feature detection system provided by Evolution Robotics under the product designation ViPR.

In operation, the robot 12 is placed at a remote site such as a home or a facility where one or more patients are to be monitored and/or assisted. The facility may be a hospital or a residential care facility. By way of example, the robot 12 may be placed in a home where a health care provider may monitor and/or assist the patient. Likewise, a friend or family member may communicate with the patient. The cameras and monitors at both the robot and remote control stations allow for teleconferencing between the patient and the person at the remote station(s).

When the robot 12 is to be recharged the user can move the robot into proximity of the battery charging module. The user can use the image provided by the battery plug module camera to steer the robot so that the battery plug module mates with the battery charging module. The charging module may have a visual indicator that can be used to properly align the plug module with the charging module.

As another mode of operation, the robot may enter an automatic docking mode. The automatic docking mode may be selected by the user through the graphical icon of DUI. Referring to FIGS. 4, 5 and 7, in the automatic docking mode the range finder sensors 320 are used to determine a distance from the wall. An algorithm is employed to move the robot 12 until parallel with the wall. The distances from the wall to each sensor can be used to calculate a best fit line for the wall. By way of example, a linear regression technique can be utilized to calculate the slope of the line move the robot until the slope is equal to zero.

After the robot is moved into a position parallel with the wall, the robot can be laterally aligned with the battery charging station. The IR emitters 268 of the battery plug module emit IR light that is reflected and detected by the plug module 250 IR detectors 270. When the IR emitters are aligned with the short pass filters 284 of the charging module 252, the IR is absorbed by the filters and not detected. The robot controller(s) can move the robot until the IR is no longer detected. The IR detectors 270 sense the IR emitted from the charging module emitters 282 to detect a lateral relationship between the module 250 and 252. The robot controller(s) moves the robot until the lateral relationship is detected. When the plug module is laterally located and parallel with the charging module the robot controller can move the robot so that the modules are mated. The modules can be decoupled by moving the robot away from the battery charging module, either through remote operation or automatically.

The robot 12 can be maneuvered throughout the remote site by manipulating the input device 32 at a remote station 16. The robot 10 may be controlled by a number of different users. To accommodate for this the robot may have an arbitration system. The arbitration system may be integrated into the operating system of the robot 12. For example, the arbitration technique may be embedded into the operating system of the high-level controller 150.

By way of example, the users may be divided into classes that include the robot itself, a local user, a caregiver, a doctor, a family member, or a service provider. The robot 12 may override input commands that conflict with robot operation. For example, if the robot runs into a wall, the system may ignore all additional commands to continue in the direction of the wall. A local user is a person who is physically present with the robot. The robot could have an input device that allows local operation. For example, the robot may incorporate a voice recognition system that receives and interprets audible commands.

A caregiver is someone who remotely monitors the patient. A doctor is a medical professional who can remotely control the robot and also access medical files contained in the robot memory. The family and service users remotely access the robot. The service user may service the system such as by upgrading software, or setting operational parameters.

The robot 12 may operate in one of two different modes; an exclusive mode, or a sharing mode. In the exclusive mode only one user has access control of the robot. The exclusive mode may have a priority assigned to each type of user. By way of example, the priority may be in order of local, doctor, caregiver, family and then service user. In the sharing mode two or more users may share access with the robot. For example, a caregiver may have access to the robot, the caregiver may then enter the sharing mode to allow a doctor to also access the robot. Both the caregiver and the doctor can conduct a simultaneous tele-conference with the patient.

The arbitration scheme may have one of four mechanisms; notification, timeouts, queue and call back. The notification mechanism may inform either a present user or a requesting user that another user has, or wants, access to the robot. The timeout mechanism gives certain types of users a prescribed amount of time to finish access to the robot. The queue mechanism is an orderly waiting list for access to the robot. The call back mechanism informs a user that the robot can be accessed. By way of example, a family user may receive an e-mail message that the robot is free for usage. Tables I and II, show how the mechanisms resolve access request from the various users.

TABLE I Access Medical Command Software/Debug Set User Control Record Override Access Priority Robot No No Yes (1) No No Local No No Yes (2) No No Caregiver Yes Yes Yes (3) No No Doctor No Yes No No No Family No No No No No Service Yes No Yes Yes Yes

TABLE II Requesting User Local Caregiver Doctor Family Service Current Local Not Allowed Warn current user of Warn current user of Warn current user of Warn current user of User pending user pending user pending user pending user Notify requesting Notify requesting user Notify requesting user Notify requesting user that system is in that system is in use that system is in use user that system is in use Set timeout = 5 m Set timeout = 5 m use Set timeout Call back No timeout Call back Caregiver Warn current user Not Allowed Warn current user of Warn current user of Warn current user of of pending user. pending user pending user pending user Notify requesting Notify requesting user Notify requesting user Notify requesting user that system is that system is in use that system is in use user that system is in in use. Set timeout = 5 m Set timeout = 5 m use Release control Queue or callback No timeout Callback Doctor Warn current user Warn current user of Warn current user of Notify requesting user Warn current user of of pending user pending user pending user that system is in use pending user Notify requesting Notify requesting Notify requesting user No timeout Notify requesting user that system is user that system is in that system is in use Queue or callback user that system is in in use use No timeout use Release control Set timeout = 5 m Callback No timeout Callback Family Warn current user Notify requesting Warn current user of Warn current user of Warn current user of of pending user user that system is in pending user pending user pending user Notify requesting use Notify requesting user Notify requesting user Notify requesting user that system is No timeout that system is in use that system is in use user that system is in in use Put in queue or Set timeout = 1 m Set timeout = 5 m use Release Control callback Queue or callback No timeout Callback Service Warn current user Notify requesting Warn current user of Warn current user of Not Allowed of pending user user that system is in request pending user Notify requesting use Notify requesting user Notify requesting user user that system is No timeout that system is in use that system is in use in use Callback No timeout No timeout No timeout Callback Queue or callback

The information transmitted between the station 16 and the robot 12 may be encrypted. Additionally, the user may have to enter a password to enter the system 10. A selected robot is then given an electronic key by the station 16. The robot 12 validates the key and returns another key to the station 16. The keys are used to encrypt information transmitted in the session.

The robot 12 and remote station 16 transmit commands through the broadband network 18. The commands can be generated by the user in a variety of ways. For example, commands to move the robot may be generated by moving the joystick 32 (see FIG. 1). The commands are preferably assembled into packets in accordance with TCP/IP protocol. Table III provides a list of control commands that are generated at the remote station and transmitted to the robot through the network.

TABLE III Control Commands Command Example Description drive drive 10.0 0.0 5.0 The drive command directs the robot to move at the specified velocity (in cm/sec) in the (x, y) plane, and turn its facing at the specified rate (degrees/sec). goodbye goodbye The goodbye command terminates a user session and relinquishes control of the robot gotoHomePosition gotoHomePosition 1 The gotoHomePosition command moves the head to a fixed “home” position (pan and tilt), and restores zoom to default value. The index value can be 0, 1, or 2. The exact pan/tilt values for each index are specified in robot configuration files. head head vel pan 5.0 tilt The head command controls the head motion. 10.0 It can send commands in two modes, identified by keyword: either positional (“pos”) or velocity (“vol”). In velocity mode, the pan and tilt values are desired velocities of the head on the pan and tilt axes, in degree/sec. A single command can include just the pan section, or just the tilt section, or both. keepalive keepalive The keepalive command causes no action, but keeps the communication (socket) link open so that a session can continue. In scripts, it can be used to introduce delay time into the action. odometry odometry 5 The odometry command enables the flow of odometry messages from the robot. The argument is the number of times odometry is to be reported each second. A value of 0 turns odometry off. reboot reboot The reboot command causes the robot computer to reboot immediately. The ongoing session is immediately broken off. restoreHeadPosition restoreHeadPosition The restoreHeadposition functions like the gotoHomePosition command, but it homes the head to a position previously saved with gotoHomePosition. saveHeadPosition saveHeadPosition The saveHeadPosition command causes the robot to save the current head position (pan and tilt) in a scratch location in temporary storage so that this position can be restored. Subsequent calls to “restoreHeadPosition” will restore this saved position. Each call to saveHeadPosition overwrites any previously saved position. setCameraFocus setCameraFocus 100.0 The setCameraFocus command controls focus for the camera on the robot side. The value sent is passed “raw” to the video application running on the robot, which interprets it according to its own specification. setCameraZoom setCamerazoom 100.0 The setCameraZoom command controls zoom for the camera on the robot side. The value sent is passed “raw” to the video application running on the robot, which interprets it according to its own specification. shutdown Shutdown The shutdown command shuts down the robot and powers down its computer. stop stop The stop command directs the robot to stop moving immediately. It is assumed this will be as sudden a stop as the mechanism can safely accommodate. timing Timing 3245629 500 The timing message is used to estimate message latency. It holds the UCT value (seconds + milliseconds) of the time the message was sent, as recorded on the sending machine. To do a valid test, you must compare results in each direction (i.e., sending from machine A to machine B, then from machine B to machine A) in order to account for differences in the clocks between the two machines. The robot records data internally to estimate average and maximum latency over the course of a session, which it prints to log files. userTask userTask “Jane Doe” The userTask command notifies the robot of “Remote Visit” the current user and task. It typically is sent once at the start of the session, although it can be sent during a session if the user and/or task change. The robot uses this information for record-keeping.

Table IV provides a list of reporting commands that are generated by the robot and transmitted to the remote station through the network.

TABLE IV Reporting Commands Command Example Description abnormalExit abnormalExit This message informs the user that the robot software has crashed or otherwise exited abnormally. Te robot software catches top- level exceptions and generates this message if any such exceptions occur. bodyType bodyType 3 The bodyType message informs the station which type body (using the numbering of the mechanical team) the current robot has. This allows the robot to be drawn correctly in the station user interface, and allows for any other necessary body-specific adjustments. driveEnabled driveEnabled true This message is sent at the start of a session to indicate whether the drive system is operational. emergencyShutdown emergencyShutdown This message informs the station that the robot software has detected a possible “runaway” condition (an failure causing the robot to move out of control) and is shutting the entire system down to prevent hazardous motion. odometry odometry 10 20 340 The odometry command reports the current (x, y) position (cm) and body orientation (degrees) of the robot, in the original coordinate space of the robot at the start of the session. sensorGroup group_data Sensors on the robot are arranged into groups, each group of a single type (bumps, range sensors, charge meter, etc.) The sensorGroup message is sent once per group at the start of each session. It contains the number, type, locations, and any other relevant data for the sensors in that group. The station assumes nothing about the equipment carried on the robot; everything it knows about the sensors comes from the sensorGroup messages. sensorState groupName state data The sensorState command reports the current state values for a specified group of sensor. The syntax and interpretation for the state data is specific to each group. This message is sent once for each group at each sensor evaluation (normally several times per second). systemError systemError This message informs the station user of a driveController failure in one of the robot's subsystems. The error_type argument indicates which subsystem failed, including driveController, sensorController, headHome. systemInfo systemInfo wireless 45 This message allows regular reporting of information that falls outside the sensor system such as wireless signal strength. text text “This is some The text string sends a text string from the text” robot to the station, where the string is displayed to the user. This message is used mainly for debugging. version version 1.6 This message identifies the software version currently running on the robot. It is sent once at the start of the session to allow the station to do any necessary backward compatibility adjustments.

The processor 154 of the robot high level controller 150 may operate a program that determines whether the robot 12 has received a robot control command within a time interval. For example, if the robot 12 does not receive a control command within 2 seconds then the processor 154 provides instructions to the low level controller 150 to stop the robot 12. Although a software embodiment is described, it is to be understood that the control command monitoring feature could be implemented with hardware, or a combination of hardware and software. The hardware may include a timer that is reset each time a control command is received and generates, or terminates, a command or signal, to stop the robot.

The remote station computer 22 may monitor the receipt of video images provided by the robot camera. The computer 22 may generate and transmit a STOP command to the robot if the remote station does not receive or transmit an updated video image within a time interval. The STOP command causes the robot to stop. By way of example, the computer 22 may generate a STOP command if the remote control station does not receive a new video image within 2 seconds. Although a software embodiment is described, it is to be understood that the video image monitoring feature could be implemented with hardware, or a combination of hardware and software. The hardware may include a timer that is reset each time a new video image is received and generates, or terminates, a command or signal, to generate the robot STOP command.

While certain exemplary embodiments have been described and shown in the accompanying drawings, it is to be understood that such embodiments are merely illustrative of and not restrictive on the broad invention, and that this invention not be limited to the specific constructions and arrangements shown and described, since various other modifications may occur to those ordinarily skilled in the art. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A remote controlled robot system, comprising: a mobile robot with a robot camera, a plug module including a plurality of electrical contacts, and a movement platform; a remote control station that transmits commands to control said mobile robot; a charging module that mates with said plug module, wherein said plug module can pivot relative to said robot about a vertical axis; and, an alignment system that aligns said plug module with said charging module, said charging module includes a sensor in said plug module.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein said alignment system includes a plurality of IR emitters in said plug module.
 3. The system of claim 2, wherein said alignment system includes at least one short pass filter in said charging module.
 4. The system of claim 1, further comprising a camera in said plug module.
 5. The system of claim 1, wherein said plug module includes a plurality of electrical contacts that include a short ground contact that has a length shorter than said electrical contacts.
 6. The system of claim 1, wherein said mobile robot includes a male electrical plug that can be plugged into a wall socket.
 7. The system of claim 1, wherein said remote control station displays a display user interface with a graphical icon that can be selected to enable an automatic docking mode.
 8. A remote controlled robot system, comprising: a mobile robot with a robot camera and a movement platform; a plug module that includes a plurality of electrical contacts including a short grounded contact that has a length shorter than said other electrical contacts; a remote control station that transmits commands to control said mobile robot; a charging module that mates with said plug module; and, an alignment system that aligns said plug module with said battery charging module by permitting said plug module to pivot relative to said robot about a vertical axis.
 9. A method for charging a remote controlled robot system, comprising: providing a mobile robot with that has a robot camera, a plug module including a plurality of electrical contacts that includes a short grounded contact that has a length shorter than said other electrical contacts, and a movement platform; providing a remote control station that transmits commands to control movement of said mobile robot; moving the mobile robot until a charging module mates with said plug module, wherein said plug module includes an alignment system that aligns said plug module with said battery charging module by permitting said plug module to pivot relative to said robot about a vertical axis. 